Hegseth cancels Netanyahu meeting on possible F-35 sale to Turkey

Pete Hegseth canceled a July 8 meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu that was to focus on a possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, putting Washington’s balancing act between two close regional partners on display. The planned talks were to include Israel Katz and Iran.

The dispute sharpened after Donald Trump said on July 7 that he would lift U.S. sanctions tied to Turkey’s 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 air-defense missiles and said he would consider selling F-35s to Ankara. Trump made the comments during a NATO summit in Ankara, where he praised Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said the United States would not want to sanction a friend.

Netanyahu opposes the idea. In a CNN interview, he said a sale would “destroy the power balance in the Middle East,” and called Turkey “not exactly a model ally,” adding that Ankara was infected with Muslim Brotherhood ideology. His comments underscored how sharply Israel views any move that could put advanced U.S. stealth aircraft into Turkish hands.

The policy fight reaches back to July 2019, when the United States removed Turkey from the F-35 program after Ankara acquired the Russian S-400 system. Turkey had been expected to buy 100 of the aircraft, and the decision also ended Turkish production work on the jet, including tasks that had been slated to continue until March 2020. The Pentagon and Congress have long argued that the S-400 and F-35 are incompatible because of the risk to sensitive stealth technology.

Fighter-jet sales to Turkey have become especially prominent since the S-400 purchase and the expulsion from the F-35 program. The Pentagon and Congress have argued that the S-400 and F-35 are incompatible because of the risk to sensitive stealth technology.

The Iran angle adds another layer. Trump said on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed to end the conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran was “over” and that he did not want to engage with Tehran.